CS120 Introduction to Computing

RIVIER COLLEGE Summer-I 2007 CS120E1 – Introduction to Computing Dr. Vladimir Riabov _________________________________________________________________________________________

CS120E1 – Introduction to Computing Summer-I Term: May 24 – June 28, 2007

Instructor: Dr. Vladimir V. Riabov Office: STH-312; Phone: (603) 897-8613 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.rivier.edu/faculty/vriabov/ Classes and labs are scheduled on Thursdays, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM Office Hours (EDU-305): Thursdays: 4:30 - 5:30 PM & 8:00 - 9:00 PM COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to computing. Students will learn the knowledge and skills required to perform functions common to all Windows applications (including word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation programs), the fundamental concepts of networking technologies (network architecture, computer security, email, the Internet, and the Blackboard™). They will become familiar with input and output devices, the file structure of an operating system, and with storing and retrieving information on a computer. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of computing, data processing, networks and data communications, the Internet, and using application software for multimedia applications. Topics covered include various Windows applications (e.g., word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation programs), the fundamental concepts of networking technologies (network architecture, computer security, e-mail, the Internet, and the Blackboard™), input and output devices, the file structure of an operating system, storing and retrieving information on a computer, theory of computation, and other topics. COURSE TEXTBOOK: • Shelley O’Hara, Learning Computer Concepts: A Fundamental Understanding of IC3 – Technology, Computer Applications, and The Internet, 2nd edition, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2006. • Lecture slides, links to additional topics of interest, and links to materials developed by other scholars can be downloaded from http://www.rivier.edu/faculty/vriabov/. RECOMMENDED BOOKS: • A. Evans, K. Martin, and M. A. Poatsy, Go! Technology in Action, 4th edition, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2007. • Peter Norton, Introduction to Computers, 6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2005; http://www.norton.glencoe.com/. • Brookshear, J. Glenn: Computer-Science: An Overview, 7th Edition (or up); Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, (2002-2007); see also http://www.awlonline.com/brookshear/. • George Beekman, Tomorrow’s Technology and You, 8th edition, Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2008. • Lawrence Snyder, Fluency with Information Technology: Skills, Concepts, and Capabilities, Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 2003. • Mark Guzdial, Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python: A Multimedia Approach, 1st edition, Prentice Hall, 2005, ISBN: 0-13-117655-2 (with CD). TUTORIALS: Visit the Rivier College Training Center, which is a web-based support program for students (http://www.rivier.edu/staff/acallahan/webpages/index.htm), which contains a collection of 350+ tutorials for Microsoft™ Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access, Internet Explorer and Windows. SOFTWARE: • Microsoft™ Office, Microsoft™ Outlook, and Blackboard™ available from any computer on campus. • OPTIONAL: Jython Environment for Students (JES) is available in Computer Labs on campus or can be downloaded from http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/mediaComp-plan/MediacompSoftware/.

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RIVIER COLLEGE Summer-I 2007 CS120E1 – Introduction to Computing Dr. Vladimir Riabov _________________________________________________________________________________________ 24/7 BLACKBOARD TECHNICAL SUPPORT: All students have the ability to access Blackboard technical support on a 24/7 basis. Students have many different options for obtaining support, including phone, online technical library, or Live Chat with a customer service representative. The support can be accessed by following this link: http://supportcenteronline.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=3250 CLASSROOM POLICIES: a) Attendance: Active participation requires attendance and arrival to class in time to be prepared for work when the class period begins. You are expected to attend all classes. Much of the learning will take place in classroom activities that cannot be duplicated easily outside of class. If you miss class, you are responsible for doing all classroom activities you missed, getting the notes from a classmate, and turning in all work on the day it is due. If you miss more than two classes, your absences will be reported to the registrar and you must meet with the professor to discuss the advisability of your remaining in the course for the remainder of the semester. Students who miss three classes may be withdrawn from the course and receive disciplinary action from the college (see Appendix: Rivier College attendance policy). If you anticipate that job-related duties or prior commitments will cause several absences, please discuss the matter with the instructor outside of class. b) Honesty policy: Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic honesty. In general, plagiarism is defined as the presentation of someone else’s work in whatever form: copyrighted material, notes, film, art work, reports, statistics, bibliographies, and the like, as one’s own, and failing to acknowledge the true source. Quoting word-for-word, or almost so, or using the argumentation of another source without acknowledging this dependence also constitutes plagiarism. Cheating is defined as the giving or attempting to give or to receive unauthorized information or assistance during an examination or in completing an assigned project. Submission of a single work for two separate courses without the permission of the instructors involved is also a form of cheating. If students are unsure whether a specific course of action would constitute plagiarism or cheating, they should consult with their instructor in advance. Penalties for plagiarism and cheating vary with the degree of the offense and may take the form of the following academic sanctions: • the grade of F for the work in question; • the grade of F for the course; • notification of the department chair and/or Academic Dean of the College of the misconduct of the student; • recommendations that the student be suspended or dismissed from the College. c) Home Assignments: Appropriate problems are assigned regularly for credit and require a sincere effort and amount of a student’s time (additionally at least three hours a week) to ensure success. Any late assignments will receive a 10% grade discount. Assignments must be completed on time. Only those situations involving instructor’s permission will be exempt from this policy. Instructor must know in advance of class that a student will not be present or an assignment will be late. d) Lecture/Problem solutions: The primary source of exam material is derived from what is done in class. Your notes are keys to success on exams. Each student should maintain a notebook exclusively for this course. e) In Computer Lab, students will complete exercises and section labs from the CD in the Guzdial’s textbook. f) Students need to have computer accounts, know how to access their accounts, and organize course labs properly in a designated cs120 folder in their account. g) Classes and labs are scheduled on Thursdays, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM. h) Final Exam is scheduled (after a brief last lecture) on Thursday, June 28, 2007, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): Rivier College wants to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. To accomplish this goal effectively and to ensure the best use of our resources, timely notice of a disability must be provided to the Office of Special Services for verification and for evaluation of available options. Any student whose disabilities

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RIVIER COLLEGE Summer-I 2007 CS120E1 – Introduction to Computing Dr. Vladimir Riabov _________________________________________________________________________________________ fall within ADA should inform the instructor within the first two weeks of the term of any special needs or equipment necessary to accomplish the requirements for the course. To obtain current information on this procedure, contact the Office of Special Services at telephone extension 8497. EXAMINATIONS and GRADING: Evaluation Mechanism: Students are required to pass all exams and complete all assignments (four homeworks, four labs, and research project paper). The final exam will be based on textbooks, labs, homeworks, lecture material, and handouts. The exam will be comprehensive, closed book and open notes. Grades for the exam and all assignments will not be determined by curves. Letter grades submitted to the Registrar’s Office are based on the Rivier College Grading system. The conversion from numerical grade to letter grade will be based on the following table: Letter Grade A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D F

Honor Points 4.0 3.67 3.33 3.0 2.67 2.33 2.0 1.67 1.33 1.00 0.0

Numerical Grade 93-100 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 Below 62

The grade is made up of your performance on your homeworks, labs, and final exam: Five Homework Assignments 30% Five Labs 40% Final Exam 30% COMPUTER LABORATORY: Students will be required to use computers in the College Computer Lab and classroom for completing exercises and section labs, and coding and testing the software using the Jython and Microsoft Visual C++ development environment. If you have any problems with the equipment, contact Sister Martha’s office in the Computer Lab. CLASS SCHEDULE: Classes and labs are scheduled on Thursdays, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM. Week

Date

Subject

Output from Class

O’Hara’s

Lab

01

May 24

Intro to Computer Systems, Storing Data, Using Input and Output Devices. Files. Basic e-mail messages. Blackboard™.

Chs. 2, 3

Lab1: Storing Data, Using Input and Output Devices

02

May 31

Ch. 5, 6, 7

03

June 7

Defining Operating Systems. File System. Working with Applications. Formatting Documents in MS Word. Add Graphics and Tables. Submitting documents via e-mail. Creating Worksheets. Tables and charts with MS Excel. Calculations with functions in spreadsheets.

Learn about hard, floppy, CD, and DVD drives. Use the keyboard, mouse, and printer. Monitors, scanners, and cameras. Files, e-mails. Homework #1 due. Concept of Windows Operating Systems. Formatting documents in MS Word with graphics and tables. Homework #2 due. Creating worksheets and charts with MS Excel.

Lab2: Formatting documents in MS Word with graphics and tables. Lab3: Creating worksheets and charts with MS Excel.

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Text Reading

Ch. 8

Assignments

RIVIER COLLEGE Summer-I 2007 CS120E1 – Introduction to Computing Dr. Vladimir Riabov _________________________________________________________________________________________ 04

June 14

Concepts of Networking. Computer Security. E-mail. The Internet. Searching online.

05

June 21

06

June 28

Designing and creating professional presentations. Introduction to Web design. Last Lecture (5:30 PM - 6:15 PM): Modifying Pictures with Jython. FINAL EXAM (6:15 PM - 8:00 PM)

Homework #3 due. Networking and Security Concepts. Searching the Internet. Advanced E-mail messages. Homework #4 due. Creating advanced presentations. Homework #5 due. FINAL EXAM

Ch. 10, 11, 12

Ch. 9 Handouts

Lab4: Searching the Internet. Advanced email messages. Lab5: Creating advanced presentations. Final exam is based on Labs, Homeworks, and Lecture materials.

APPENDIX: Rivier College Attendance Policy The classroom is the heart of the educational experience at Rivier College because it provides, uniquely, a formal setting for the important exchanges among faculty and students. Regular and punctual attendance at all classes, essential for maximum academic achievement, is a major responsibility of Rivier College students. Failure to attend and contribute to the classroom environment significantly and demonstrably reduces the quality of the educational experience for everyone in the classroom. As a result, absences almost always impact the quality of performance. As part of its commitment to a quality educational experience for all members of the Rivier community, the College formally requires specific attendance policies to be developed by its professors and reviewed by the Division Head and Academic Dean. Any attendance policy used by an individual professor as a criterion for evaluation must be specified in the course syllabus and presented to students during the first week of classes. These policies can be found in respective course syllabi, and may include reasonable penalties and sanctions for excessive absences. In the event of prolonged illness, accident, or similar emergency, it is the responsibility of the student to notify both the professor and the Office of the Academic Dean. Students must remember that it is always their responsibility to make up the work they may have missed during an absence from class. Students are directed to confer with their professors when their absences jeopardize satisfactory progress. Whenever a professor is absent without notification, students are expected to wait fifteen minutes before leaving and to sign an Attendance List, which a class member delivers to the Office of the Academic Dean. Instructors are required to record attendance and alert the Registrar when a student fails to attend the equivalent of two weeks of courses (2 absences for a course meeting once a week, 4 absences for a course meeting twice a week, 6 absences for a course meeting three times a week). The student will then be alerted that he/she is in danger of falling under the ' habitual non-attendance policy" (see below). Habitual Non-Attendance Policy: Habitual non-attendance is defined as an absence in any course (for any reason whatsoever) equating to three full weeks of missed class sessions (3 absences for a course meeting once a week, 6 absences for a course meeting twice a week, 9 absences for a course meeting three times a week). It is the responsibility of the student to notify the College of any intention to withdraw from a course or withdraw from the College. The College will attempt to resolve the issue of habitual non-attendance with the student; however, the College reserves the right to withdraw students who are no longer attending classes. Habitual non-attendance in one or more classes may result in administrative withdrawal from the class or classes affected, withdrawal from the College or, in cases with extenuating circumstances, an administrative leave of absence. In such cases a grade of W of NF will be assigned to the classes affected according to the appropriate date published in the academic calendar. Students who have attended no class sessions of a course or courses from which they are registered by the end of the drop/add period will be dropped from each class not attended. If a student never attended any courses during the drop/add period, the student will be withdrawn from his/her full schedule of courses.

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